Nothing Either Good or Bad
by blodwite
Summary: Eight orphans live within the underground vampire city of Sanguinem. Tired of not seeing the sun, of being viewed as livestock, and of donating their blood they scheme to escape the confines of their vampiric prisoners... only things go horribly wrong.
1. Trouble in Paradise

The light from above wasn't warm.

Mikaela closed his eyes as the realization sank firmly into his being. They didn't try to make the ceiling of the underground city look like the sky, but they did have these soft lights that mimicked the behavior of the sun.

He wasn't sure if it was intentional, if it was merely a way to help them keep some internal sense of time. Perhaps it allowed the vampires to stick to their sleep schedule down here in the underground?

Mikaela didn't know if vampires could sleep or not. He wished that he could find the time to sleep. He was so tired… in the deep soul draining way that he had presumed only certain adults could feel.

Mikaela needed more than a nap. He needed a long sleep, real food, his blood to stay in his body, his family's safety, and he needed the sun.

Lips parted in a deep sigh as those are things that he's sure are never going to happen.

Running footsteps approached where Mikaela was laying on the stone half wall that served as a fence between solid ground and the sheer drop off on the other side. It was almost like a balcony for the ghettos that were the areas where the humans were kept. To the other side, Mikaela could see the vast landscape of the underground city of Sanguinem. There were large, buildings shinning a bright white under the false sun. Elegant architecture to match the vampire's wasteful, extravagant tastes.

"Mika!" The urgent scream had Mikaela sitting up even as the person approaching him got steadily closer.

"Fumie-chan...?" Mikaela asked, voice lilting higher in a question as the girl came to a stuttering stop. She leaned forward, bracing herself against her knees as she panted heavily.

It was several moments before the girl could manage to speak, and even then her words were fragmented and breathless. "Yu… nii… san is in… a fight!"

A gasp escaped Fumie's lips as she fell on her butt, she looked up with wide eyes at the suddenly standing Mikaela. He had startled her at his sudden movement. The boy in question blinked, before giving a sheepish grin and reaching a hand down to the girl.

"Sorry for startling you, Fumie-chan." He apologized with a small smile as he helped her to her feet. "Let's go save Yu-chan now!"

He took off running, dragging the poor younger girl along behind him. There were only a few kids that were older than them around here, seeing as the virus had killed those thirteen and older. It didn't make much of a difference, but the older boys still liked to picked on Yu and Yu was always itching for a fight.

"Where are they?" Mikaela asked Fumie as they ran, speaking loudly to be heard over their panting breath and the pulse in their ears.

Glancing back, he slowed his pace until they came to a stop. Fumie abruptly collapsed to her butt on the tiled ground, gasping desperately for air. Lifting a shaking arm, she pointed down the path between the ragged buildings to the right.

Mikaela nodded, muttering a quick thank you as he turned on his heel. Racing towards the direction his younger sister had pointed, he was soon enough graced with the obvious sounds of a fight.

The path through this area was more of an alleyway than a true road. Single story buildings stood too close together on either side, leaning ominously over Mikaela as he ran between them. Over the loud exhales of his own, he could hear the shuffling and curses of a fight echoing toward him.

Emerging from between the two buildings, the alley dumped into a little cul du sac. The entries of the buildings, ever so large to children, all facing the small group of boys scuffling in the center of what could pass for a courtyard.

Pausing, with his hand braced against the rough surface of one of the buildings that were the livestock shelters, Mikaela took a moment to breath.

Three boys were trying to pin Yu down. Three! They'd had problems before, sure, but only with one or occasionally two other boys. That three of them were wailing upon Yu now was a bit disconcerting. What had Yu-chan done now?

Blue eyes wide, he watched the fight for a moment. Yu had just punched one of the boys in the face, hand coming away bloody from what could only be a broken nose. The kid howled, holding his face and stumbling back. All three paused, glancing at the injured party before the two redoubled their efforts on hitting Yu. The bigger boy, probably older than them, grabbed Yu by the waist, pulling him back. The other uninjured boy slammed a fist into Yu's stomach.

Pushing away from the wall, Mikaela stalked over to the fight. Cracking his knuckles on the way. They were so busy with Yu that none of them noticed him until his foot had already driven its way home between the legs of the boy who'd been punching Yu.

Taking advantage of his assailant's surprise, Yu slipped away from his grasp. He spun around and slammed his fist into that boy's wide eyed face as well. The two groaned on the ground, and the one with the bloody nose was nowhere to be found when Mika glanced behind to look for him.

"Yu-chan…" Mikaela turned to the dark haired boy. "Are you okay?"

Yuuichirou wiped at the blood on his mouth where he had bit his lip before nodding. "Yeah… the assholes had to outnumber me to even have a chance." A shit eating grin curled his lips as he peered down at one of the boys still rolling in pain on the ground.

Clicking his tongue, Mika shook his head. "Language, Yu-chan!" He admonished, shaking a finger at his brother.

"Keh! As if that matters now!"

"But what if Akane hears you…"

Yuuichirou paled instantly. "Don't you dare tell her! You've said it yourself before! You hear me? Mika! Don't you ignore me."

He continued to shout as Mikaela placed his hands over his ears, singing the word 'la' repeatedly in an effort to not hear Yu's words. Mika even turned away and started walking towards the exit of the alleyway.

Yu trailed along behind him. "Mika… seriously, don't tell her. I know you can hear me! Stupid Blondie." He huffed when Mikaela didn't answer him, continuing to ignore him with his hands over his ears. He'd stopped the singing though.

"Don't you dare tell her about the fight either! You hear me!"

The two made sure to round up the rest of their siblings before heading toward the building the Hyakuya orphans had claimed as their own. Fumie and Kouta had gathered in the alleyway, having watched the fight that the two older boys had been apart of.

They knew Chihiro was at home, however strange it was to call that home, with Akane. Fumie and Taichi had come out with them earlier. Neither they or Fumie and Taichi knew if they were still out where they were allowed to play, or if they had gone home already.

Really no one was supposed to go off on their own. It was a rule that either Akane, Mika or even Yu was to be with them if they had, or wanted to, leave the house they resided in. While their caretakers were children themselves, no one really disobeyed. It was generally understood… the situation that they were all in.

Mikaela sighed after they'd had their brief discussion on where the two were. "Let's just go home first, see if they are there before running around all of Sanguinem searching."

That's what they were supposed to do, after all. Run home if something happens. Mika supposed that a fight was something happening, though he'd had preferred them to stay with them in a case such as this. They could handle other children picking fights… it's the vampires that they needed to worry about.

Akane had begun working on dinner by the time they arrived home. The delicious scent of the food filled the small, drafty building and Mikaela's stomach rumbled as soon as they'd opened the door.

His face flushed as Yu sent him a knowing look over his shoulder. They slipped off their slippers, seeing as how they slept on the floor of the larger room with the entry. There were lumpy pillows and threadbare blankets strewn about the floor, and it wouldn't do to soil them with their shoes.

The arguing voices of Ako and Kouta soon graced their ears, and both the older boys sighed in relief. Their wayward children were home after all.

No one wasted time making their way into the other room, the only other one in the house aside from a small washroom.

The kitchen was dim, lite only by a single hanging light. The metal grate over the light bulb gave it a harsh industrial appearance that the bright yellow of the body did nothing to assuage. The rest of the appliances were just as bad.

Akane looked up as they entered the room, a large smile spreading her lips as she saw that it as them. In her hand was carefully clutched a small paring knife and in the other a half peeled potato. The large double sink that she and Chihiro, who was helping her, spoke of workrooms and not culinary inspirations.

"Hi guys, dinner's almost started!" Akane chirped in greeting. She quickly returned to peeling her potatoes, not that there were many there to peel. The two girls had maybe six to peel between the two of them.

Chihiro looked up at them with a smile, offering a soft hi in greeting. Her large glasses were crooked on her nose as usual and it was hard for Mikaela not to point it out to her again. He'd better not with a knife in her hand, it wouldn't be good if the girl stabbed herself trying to straighten her glasses. Not that she would mean to. She'd had the same glasses since she'd come to the orphanage and they didn't seem to work as good as they used to.

Ako and Kouta perked up as the four filed into the room, squealing happily to Mikaela. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" They ran over to the blonde boy, jumping up and down once they'd gotten to him. Ako flung her arms out and glomped onto Mikaela, knocking the both of them to the ground.

Yu gave a small squeak as he jumped to the side and out of the way. Fumie and Taichi merely exchanged confused looks.

"Rice!" Barked Akane.

Like magic Kouta had suddenly found his way back to the small, dinged up stove-top oven with a wooden spoon in hand. It took Ako a moment longer, as she had to untangle her limbs from Mikaela's. Once she got there, Kouta handed the spoon to her, and she took up stirring the pot on the stove which must have been full of rice. They didn't have any lids to properly steam it.

Turning, Kouta bowed to Mikaela briefly. "Thank you for the food!"

Mikaela smiled sadly at the boy. "You're very welcome." He said, bowing back immediately after he had gotten to his feet. Kouta was trying very hard to act older, and they all knew it. They all were in a way.

Akane shared that sad smile as she watched the scene from the corner of her eye.

Yuuichirou had clenched his fists while standing in the background.

Once the potatoes were peeled and cut, she had Fumie and Chihiro help her prepare the broth. Yuuichirou had been enlisted in helping Taichi set the table, which always proved to be more of a hassle than it really should be. Mikaela sat at the table, watching and laughing with everyone as he hadn't been ordered to do anything.

Soon enough dinner was done and everyone was seated at the large, rough wooden table. The children were loud, with Akane joining in on their antics. Occasionally she would cast concerned glances toward Mikaela. Yuuichirou had caught her attention as well. He wasn't eating.

"Yu-chan…" Akane called gently. "Why aren't you eating?"

The boy in question looked up slowly, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. "I'm not hungry." A lie that they all knew as his stomach had been growling noisily this entire time.

A silence had fallen upon them, each of them glancing at Yu surreptitiously between bites. Mikaela had sat down his spoon to regard Yu with Akane.

Eventually Yu shoved away from the table, muttering to be excused under his breath as he fled from the room. Akane followed him, leaving Mikaela to assure the children that all was well.

Lies of course. Which he instantly regretted telling once Yu's voice was heard through the doorless entry between the two rooms. Akane knew better than to let the children overhear, but Yuuichirou had no such control.

"I will not eat food that the vampires have touched!"

Muttering, angry whispers, and the shuffling of clothing could be heard, as everyone had frozen where the sat. They didn't even dare chew as they held their breaths in shock or to eavesdrop.

Finally, Yu's voice again. "You know what he's been doing, Akane!"

And then the slam of the door.


	2. Something Wicked this Way Comes

"Mi- Mika…?"

Yu's heavy, sleep filled voice interrupted the soft breathing that could be heard in the quiet room and Mikaela winced. He'd been doing so well at being quiet, only to get caught now on the last night that he was going to do this. He sighed, deciding that he must have the absolute worst luck that anyone could ever have.

"Mika, what are you doing?" Yu sat up, rubbing at his eyes sleepily while he squinted at Mikaela's form in the dark. They had a small artificial light in the kitchen. The soft blue light could be seen through the doorless entryway that separated the only two rooms in the small building. It cast odd shadows about the room and reflected off of Mikaela's hair. Ako and Taichi were afraid of the dark, but now Mikaela wished that he'd never procured that light for them. A selfish desire that he instantly regretted.

"Where are you going?" Yu tried again, voice steadily growing firmer as he pressed Mikaela for answers.

"Ah, no where Yu-chan." Mikaela answered, trying to make his voice sound sure and cheerful. "I just couldn't sleep." He smiled widely, though he didn't think that Yu could see it in the dark despite the small light. They were too far away. It still helped him feel better with the lie however.

"Then where are you going, Mika?" Yu asked again. He got to his feet, moving carefully around the piled sleeping forms of their family on the floor. The large cushions on the floor made his balance precarious as he made his way to Mika. His arms were held wide as he tried his best not to fall or step on one of the other children.

Mikaela waited until his companion was safe on solid ground before replying to him, not wanting to break his concentration and have him fall on someone. Mikaela didn't need to explain himself to anyone else this night.

"Just outside Yu-chan." He fidgeted on his toes a moment, a little uncomfortable with lying to his brother like this. Indirect lies and avoiding the truth were no problem, but this was… too much for Mikaela. Yu was too forceful in his hunt for answers, and Mikaela was hesitant and a terrible liar. It didn't help that Yuuichirou already knew what he was doing.

Yu had opened his mouth to speak again, but they both paused as another sleepy form sat up amongst the small pile of sleeping children. Yu turned to watch with Mika as Akane yawned and regarded them sleepily. The two boys glanced at each other as they both felt a small sense of dread settle into their stomachs as Akane got to her feet.

It was fine to bicker amongst themselves, but Akane was sure to scold them. Neither of them wanted that. Akane could be scary.

Yu took a side step closer to Mika as Akane approached them, her face set in a scowl even as she tried to cross the haphazard floor of pillows. Their own disagreement was forgotten as they bonded together in solidarity against Akane's motherly ire.

"Just what do you two think you're doing?" Akane asked quietly, voice soft and deceivingly cheerful. She even tilted her face up towards them in a smile that they could just see in the dark.

The two boys exchanged another glance before Mika spoke up first. "N-nothing, Akane. I couldn't sleep and Yu asked me where I was going. That's all." He answered nervously, even lifting his hands palms up to her in an appeasing gesture.

She was quiet for a moment, and Mika wondered if she was flicking her gaze between the two of them. He couldn't tell in this dark.

"And where are you going, Mika?"

Mikaela froze and wondered if the feeling in his stomach was nausea or because of the lie that was getting ready to pass his lips. "Just outside to breath, Akane."

His whole world seemed to slow as both he and Yu watched Akane consider this and wait for her response. Surely he would be berated with a hissed voice for even thinking of doing such a dumb and dangerous thing, alone and especially at night. Such a simple thing it actually was when the slightly younger girl peacefully nodded. Akane stepped forward, wrapping Mika in a hug.

Mikaela's eyes widened at the unexpected gesture, sparing a confused glance with Yu, who thankfully looked equally appalled. After hesitating he brought his arms up and gave the girl a squeeze. Taking a breath, he opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off.

"Just be careful, Mika, okay?" She pulled back, placing a hand on the side of his neck and giving him a steady stare. She squeezed his shoulders and even in the dim light he could see her intense glare.

"Ah! I will!"

Mikaela had known that hiding it wouldn't be easy. Even from idiot Yu-chan. He supposed that they had their right to worry about him, and it was less emotionally difficult now that they knew and that Akane had given him her blessing to do this. Even if it was for the last time.

Yu was still angry, but Mika could handle that. Yu was always angry these days, at the vampires, at the world, at the other children that were livestock, and even at his family. It just couldn't be helped and they were used to it at this point. Mikaela and Akane did what they could for him. Mikaela was even doing the worst thing that he could for the sake of all of them.

Clenching a fist, Mikaela lifted his head and smiled brightly at Akane and Yu. "I promise. That I'll be careful, I mean. We'll definitely talk when I come home." He paused, glancing between the two of them. "Okay?" He asked forcibly. He gave a nod, not even waiting for their response and pointedly ignoring that stupid confused look on Yu's face.

Turning, Mika quickly crossed the room, pausing only to slip on his shoes before hastily shutting the squeaky door behind him and running off into the night.

The cold night air was stinging his checks as Mikaela neared the mansion that was Ferid Bathory's estate in Sanguinem. He knew somewhat instinctively that arriving to a vampire's abode with labored breath and pounding heart wasn't a very smart thing to do, but he was very late as it was because of his impromptu meeting with Yu and Akane.

Ferid wouldn't be happy, especially since Mika had been late the last two times as well. There was no helping it now, and Mikaela didn't need the vampire to like him anymore. Not after what he had found in the manor. This last trip to Ferid's arms was to retrieve the map and gun that he had found, and then they would never have to see Ferid's dirty face ever again.

Mikaela slowed as he neared a back alley, glancing around suspiciously. The areas where vampires lived weren't really patrolled and the livestock districts were patrolled less at night, since humans slept then. Ferid lived in the outskirts of the livestock ghettos, glamorous manor close enough to the other vampires to not be scandalous but still close enough for his little snacks to sneak off and visit him.

They weren't really supposed to. It was against the Queen's laws for livestock to be fed from directly. Humans were too rare of a commodity since the apocalypse happened. Mikaela didn't know how the blood was distributed amongst the vampires and he didn't really care to know.

What he did know was that he was tired of them taking it. He was tired of feeling dizzy and weak, and he knew that he hated seeing his family like that. They had to leave, simple as that.

Little fists clenched, Mika tried to control his breathing as he approached the side entrance to the building that was his destination. The front had a yard with deliberately placed trees and a neat little fountain. Ferid had led him in that way himself the first time. He'd treated him rather nicely back then, hadn't even drank his blood.

This entrance was meant for servants, vampires who weren't progenitors or strong enough to be in the city guard. At least, Mikaela assumed that was the case. They were scared enough of Ferid that was sure.

So was Mikaela, but he'd be damned if he'd let it show. He didn't know how to describe it yet, but he'd be damned if he ever let any vampire get the better of him. Perhaps it was a solidarity with his species, a certain pride even if he was weaker than any vampire alive. If they were alive. There was a lot that Mikaela didn't know about them.

Pausing in front of the door, he took a deep breath. His breathing was almost stable now but his pulse still puttered a little too quickly. Still, it'd be fine. He wouldn't encounter Ferid Bathory immediately and he was fairly certain that the vampire servant that always… well, they didn't greet him but they were always waiting by the door when he arrived, wouldn't harm him just because of his pulse.

None of the vampires that took their blood or that stood guard while they were giving blood had ever lost control. Even if they were scary and murderous monsters they seemed to have more control than a wild animal.

Just as he was about to grasp the handle the door pulled open. He would have startled if it weren't for the pale hand that reach out and grasped his wrist even before the door was finished opening.

He was dragged inside, the vampire taking care to lift him up by his waist so as not to over extend his arm as she lifted his over the threshold with one hand. No good would come from harming her master's favorite toy. The door shut behind them with a quiet click.

"Don't just stand outside, fool." She hissed at him, kneeling down at eye level with him even as she smoothed out his clothes and patted down his hair.

Grabbing his hand in hers, she interlocked their fingers and just as soon was striding down the winding corridors of the absurdly large mansion. This particular vampire was always the one that led him around when Ferid wasn't there, or didn't condescend to do it.

"He's very displeased." Glancing up Mikaela found that the vampire was looking down at him. Was that pity in her eyes, or sympathy?

He wasn't going to dare ask.

The room she'd led him to was the large dinning room. With its perpetually empty, but set long table and intricate, dangling chandelier.

The vampire bowed and quietly excused herself, not a word spoken. Aside from the click of the door, only the crackling fire in the huge fireplace to the left of the door could be heard. At least, to the ears of the very human Mikaela.

Only Ferid inhabited the room, seated at the end, or rather at the head, of the long table with its delicate silverware. In his hand set a fine wine glass and though the red liquid inside was a parody of wine, Mikaela was sure that it was blood.

Mikaela couldn't stop the shiver that suddenly shook his small body. He knew that he wasn't cold, despite the heavy, frozen feeling deep in his stomach. Ferid had never met him within this room. Mika had been in before, many times to eat and to sneak away sweets for his family. It had always been the other, female vampire, that had resided over him.

This was very wrong.

Nothing that he could think of could logically bring him to that conclusion, but Mikaela felt it in his very bones nonetheless. Some reawakened primordial instinct desperately wanted Mika to turn on his heel and flee from this place with all the power his tiny person possessed.

He knew better however. The sick games that Ferid liked to play with them… There were a few children he'd known of that had visited Ferid only to never be seen again. None of the other vampires offered the dangerous choice that he presented them with. It could cost them their lives but there was always a handful of children that came and went from Ferid's manse for the wonderful gifts he gave in exchange for playing his game.

Mikaela and his family had come to rely on the food that the vampire had been gifting them with in return for Mika's blood.

The soft, clear clinking of the glass being sat down on the table startled Mikaela out of his thoughts. Eyes wide he watched as Ferid pushed back his chair and stood, all flowing hair and rustling fabric. The silver haired vampire always looked the part of the wealthy noble swathed in lace, velvet, and silk.

Always in white.

All the vampires that Mikaela had ever seen had been dressed in white. A mockery of a military uniform when they were just disgusting monsters that parasitically lived off the blood of children.

Mikaela hadn't known before the vampires had kidnapped them that he'd hated the color white.

Reaching forward with an effortless grace that they all seemed to possess, Ferid gestured for the boy to come to him.

"Come here, Mika-kun."

Mikaela stepped forward, suddenly feeling very hollow inside. Like he no longer existed, no longer felt anything though he knew that his heart was fluttering within his chest in fear. Yu-chan would have fought. He would have railed against his fate, fists and legs flailing, screaming at the top of his lungs.

He was not Yu-chan and he did no such thing. Obeying was the only recourse that would give him even a slim chance of surviving Ferid's ire this eve and obey Mikaela did.

He stopped within arms reach of the vampire, wide blue eyes meeting crimson. Suddenly he was held in the vampire's arms, lifted up and cradled against the hard chest like a toddler.

"You've been a very bad boy, haven't you?" Ferid cooed lowly into his ear. His breath tickled Mika's neck, the sensation strangely distant. All he could feel was the vampire's large hands on his body.

Turning on his heel Ferid carried him over to the table. The vampire shifted his grip on him slightly so that he was able to hold him there with one arm and gestured down to the table. A long elegant finger tapped on a leaf of parchment paper drawing Mikaela's attention to it.

His breath caught in his throat and ice seemed to replace the blood in his body. There, under Ferid's finger was the map that he'd been planning on stealing this very night. Next to it lay the revolver that he had found while snooping about the mansion as well.

He knew. The slimy, child molesting bastard knew what Mikaela had been planning!

It was then that Mikaela realized that the cold feeling that he'd been feeling since entering this room despite the blazing fire was fear. He'd never feared this vampire before now. Not this physical, mind numbing fear that paralyzed him body and mind. Sure, he had known to be cautious of him, had known that he could easily be killed while in his cold arms. This was the first time that he felt that instinctual fear that he'd seen in other human's eyes whenever a guard had neared them.

Sometime primal within Mikaela seemed to come to life and he gave a short yell, pushing and shoving at Ferid in a sudden attempt to escape. It was useless of course, but he couldn't fight these instincts or this fear.

The bone chilling laugh right in his ear was enough to freeze his movements.

"You thought you could escape with your precious little family, didn't you my pet?" Ferid asked, grabbing the boy's arm and holding him up by it. He lifted him up and leaned down so that they could be at eye level. A wide grin split his face and Mikaela could only stare at his red lips. The very color of blood.

A scream escaped Mikaela's lips and he suddenly found himself laying in a heap on the floor against a wall. His head was spinning and he couldn't focus. Everything hurt. It really, really hurt. Face pressed against the floor he tilted his head to the side, blurry vision trying to find Ferid in the room.

The vampire was still standing beside the table, quietly regarding the disembodied arm that he was holding. A chuckle shook the vampire's frame and he began to make his way toward Mikaela, dropping the useless limb on the floor.

Gently, the vampire sat the bleeding Mikaela up, making sure that he leaned against the wall without slumping. A cold, gloved hand caressed the boy's cheek. He shivered, staring up at Ferid with empty eyes.

"You're wrong. You can't do anything to save that family of yours." Ferid's face disappeared from view as the vampire leaned forward, nuzzling against Mika's neck. "You know that now. Don't you?" He whispered in his ear, before sinking fangs deep within the boy's throat.

Mikaela stiffened then slowly relaxed as the usual pleasure slowly spread through his body. The pain from his no longer existing arm, and from the back of his head lessened. Finally, he didn't feel anything at all and everything went black.

The first thing that Mikaela became aware of was the pain.

He had thought that getting his arm ripped off had been painful. This was much worse. His entire body seemed to burn from the inside out. A twisting, searing pain that seemed to be dispersed throughout his body but moving all at once. Though he tried, Mika found that he couldn't move, couldn't even try to escape from the confines of the pain that held him in its grasp.

There was movement around him. Even if he couldn't move his body, he was aware of that. His eyes wouldn't open but his ears still worked. Snippets of conversation were all he could make out however. Women's voices, ebbing in and out of his range. Whether they were moving or he was just faulty, Mikaela didn't know. Maybe it was the pain.

"…thank you for coming to me… important to me… Seraph…"

"…I knew… found the map… was angry…"

"…should kill him now…"

All conversation ceased the moment that Mikaela found that he could move again. It happened slowly, starting in his fingers but soon he had gained full mobility altogether. The boy thrashed around instantly, a scream ripping its was from his mouth. Anything, anything to stop the pain.

Small hands grabbed his shoulders, forcing at least his upper body to stay still. A weight then settled on top of him and he realized that someone was sitting on him, pinning him to the floor with unimaginable strength.

"Easy there, Mikaela." A woman's… no, a girl's high pitched but soft voice cooed to him. "Drink and the pain will cease."

Something wet pressed against Mikaela's mouth, fingers grabbing his jaw and gently opening his mouth for him. The liquid pour in instantly, flaring deliciously on his tongue, and Mikaela's eyes snapped open. Instinctively he grabbed her wrist, sinking brand new fangs deeply into her flesh for the wound she had made had already closed.

Blue eyes locked with the pink haired girl's crimson eyes as he drank her blood. It was what he needed, he didn't need the easing pain to know that somehow. Something within him had changed, he had changed. He hadn't even made a conscious decision to grab her, his body had done it without his control.

Tears trailed down his cheeks but he couldn't look away from the entrancing eyes. Nor could he stop himself from swallowing her blood. It was then that Mikaela realized that he couldn't go home.


	3. Mice in a Field

Yuuichirou sat quietly at the kitchen table, elbow propped up on the surface and hand supporting his head. His eyes were closed and Akane couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not. With a small sigh, Akane returned to stirring the pot. The oatmeal wanted to stick this morning. The kids, well, Ako and Taichi, would sometimes complain that the oatmeal had no flavor, that they always had oatmeal for breakfast. She knew that it was hard on them but there wasn't anything else that she could do about it. It wasn't like the vampires were going to provide them with anything that they weren't already.

The sounds of the children playing in the other room, instead of washing their faces and fixing their hair like they were supposed to be doing, brought a small smile to Akane's face. It was good to hear them play. If they could all be happy… then everything would be fine.

The sound of someone clearing their throat beside her caught Akane's attention.

Chihiro fidgeted a little when Akane turned to look at her. "Uh… um, where is Mika-kun?"

Her heart sinks at the question. She doesn't know either. It's not like she can tell the other children that though, after the fight between Yu-chan and Mika-chan they were bound to be worried now that Mikaela was missing.

"He'll be home soon." Akane smiled as the lie passed her lips.

The smiled faded as Yu aggressively slammed his chair back, getting to his feet in a quick movement. The boy quick to flee the room.

"Wait! Yu-chan!" Akane called after him. "We have to give blood today!"

Yuuichirou paused by the doorless entry, glancing at her over his shoulder. "I'll be there." Then he was gone.

That was probably meant to reassure Akane, but it most certainly did not. He was probably off to look for Mikaela which meant he'd probably yell at the vampires for answers. She wished that Yu would think before he acted, the big dummy.

Akane had never seen the vampire that Mikaela had been running off to at least once a week, but she knew that Yuuichirou had seen him. Kouta had told her about the silver haired vampire that had touched Yu-chan, only for Mika to shove his way in between them and give his winning smile.

Mikaela had saved Yu back then. Of that Akane had no doubt. Yuuichirou wasn't clever enough to handle the vampires, he'd rather fight with them. Mikaela had made sure that the attention had fallen solely on him.

"Um, Akane-nee-san?"

"Hm, Chihiro?"

"The um… the oatmeal's burning…"

"Ah!"

Immediately her eyes flicked back to the pot. So it was. Quickly she lifted the pot off of the heat, setting it on a cold burner and flicked the button off. It wasn't that bad, just a moment's distraction. It wouldn't be terrible. They still had a little milk that she could put in it, though she wouldn't waste the small amount of sugar that they had on this.

They'd complain about it, but at least they couldn't say that it was the same as every other morning now.

Akane hummed as she set to work, pausing to instruct Chihiro to get the other kids at the table regardless of their state of dress. She had to get them fed, give them their nutrient pill, fully dressed, and off to the donation site before noon. Akane heaved a sigh, she was much too young to be a mother.

The voices in the large corridor were muffled. Soft murmuring conversations echoed off of the vaulted ceilings with hesitance. All the children were present here, about a hundred already hooked up to the machines that would take their blood. The lucky ones that had arrived earlier had already left or were waiting inconspicuously for their friends or family. The rest waited in long lines that trailed out the door.

Vampires swarmed this place, crimson eyes following the children's movements like a hawk's watching prey. They were the mice cowering in a field.

Akane gathered Taichi, the youngest, and Ako, the trouble maker, to her side, making sure that they never left it. The rest she knew would know better than to go too far from each other. Chihiro would help look over them since Yu and Mika weren't there.

They were standing in line, all clustered together rather than in any kind of file. About halfway to the machines, they had probably two hours until it was their turn. They had already been standing here for an hour, and Taichi never missed a chance to complain about his feet hurting when her attention was on him.

They should be safe here, Akane knew. The vampires hadn't done anything to them yet while they donated blood. The stoic city guards stood in the background in their white uniforms with apathetic eyes, they were probably the least likely to attack them. It was the weaker vampires, dressed in regular clothing that milled around helping the other vampires in uniform that worked the machines, they were the ones that watched them with hungry eyes.

A quiet disturbance amongst the children behind her attracted Akane's attention, and she turned in time to see Yu squeeze his way through the crowd. His eyes searched the people before him and lit up when he found his family. Of course it had taken the virus for the little brat to realize what they meant to him.

The relief that swept through her small body was enough to make Akane sag. She sighed, returning Yuuichirou's smile with one that held all the pain and worry that she had felt at his absence.

"Sorry, sorry Akane. I didn't mean to be gone for so long… it took me awhile to find the place and when I got there there was no one-" Yu began to explain, speaking almost too fast for Akane to follow before she interrupted him.

"What place?" Akane asked sharply. What had he done?

Yu at least had the decency to look sheepish, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he avoided Akane's angry eyes. Shuffling his feet, Yu scratched at the back at his head. The rest of his family and even some of the children in line nearby had noticed the confrontation and had turned curious eyes on him. He felt those eyes, and it made his skin crawl uncomfortably.

"Well… Mika didn't come back, I even checked at home before coming here and he wasn't there." He rubbed his neck, eyes looking down at his shoes. At this point he made sure to keep his voice low and Akane stepped closer to him. He leaned down at bit so that he was closer to her ear, not that she was that much shorter than him.

Not quite whispering, Yu said. "I talked to some kids, and I found out where he had been going to sometimes. That vampire apparently has more kids as his little…" He trailed off, realizing that whatever he was going to say would be an insult to Mikaela as well.

"Anyway, I got one of them to show me where they meet him at, and I broke in..."

"Yuuichirou!" Akane scolded, smacking the back of his head. "That was a very stupid thing to do! You could have been killed!" She hissed the words, clenching her fists at her side so that she didn't hit him anymore. Didn't he realize the stupidity of his actions? Even if Mika was missing… there wasn't anything they could do about the vampires. Yu wasn't the kind of person that cared about that, but Akane couldn't loose another precious family member.

"Ow!" Yu yelped, not able to keep his voice down because of both the pain and the surprise at being struck. "Akane…" He whined, rubbing where she had hit him.

"Well?" Crossing her arms, Akane regarded him with a cold expression, though the anger in her eyes belied her stance.

"Don't be mad. Seriously, Akane. I didn't really break in… the door was unlocked when I tried it. I would have left if it was locked. I'm not that dumb. Besides, no one was there."

Eyes widening, Akane grabbed Yuuichirou's forearm. "What do you mean? No one was there?"

Yu shrugged. "Yeah, I looked all over that place. That's what took me so long."

Akane let go of his arm, suddenly feeling weak. She searched his face before turning away from him.

"Akane? Akane what's wrong?" Yu grabbed her shoulder, forcing the girl to look at him. Well, not really forcing. Yu didn't think anyone could force Akane to do something that she didn't want to do.

The tears trailing down Akane's face startled Yuuichirou. He hadn't told her the worst of it yet and she had already figured it out.

"Yu-chan…" Akane grabbed his arms, staring at the ground. "If Mika wasn't there then…" A sob wracked her body and she found that she couldn't continue. She had feared this last night, when he hadn't come home a few hours after he left like he usually did. It wasn't something that she had wanted to think about and now she was ashamed that she had ignored something so obvious when he still hadn't come home by morning.

She stiffened when Yu wrapped his arms around her in a hug, melting into his embrace a second later. Controlling her sobs, she cried silently against his small chest. She could hear Kouta and Chihiro quietly talking behind her but she couldn't find it in her to reassure her family that everything was alright yet. Because really, it was far from alright.

Yuuichirou patted Akane's hair gently, trying to reassure her. He felt shell shocked, not really sure what he should be feeling right now. He hadn't really considered the possibility that Mika could be dead, not until after he had seen the huge puddles of dried blood in the dinning hall of that vampire's mansion. He had cried then and preceded to tear through the rest of the mansion screaming at the top of his lungs for the damned vampire to come out.

When he had approached his family he had tried so hard to make it seem like nothing was wrong. Had told himself that just because there was blood it didn't mean that Mika was dead. A heavy false hope that lay in his chest, he knew that there was no way Mikaela could hurt a vampire like that. It had to be Mika's blood… and for him to lose that much blood, he had to be…

Yu broke away from his thoughts forcefully, before he started to cry again himself. One of them at least had to be strong, for the rest of their family. At least until they got safely to their home and could all just cry together.

"What happened?" Kouta asked, stepping closer to them. He had noticed Yuuichirou look up and felt that it was appropriate to ask then.

Yu felt his heart drop again and shook his head. "We'll tell you when we get home." They had to get this blood donation over with and the vampires didn't care about their problems. He didn't know what they will do once they tell them what happened to Mika, but it would be better to sit them down and not do it here where they can't possibly watch them all. There were too many eyes to see their grief here.

"Promise?" The younger boy asked, biting his lower lip gently. Behind him, Chihiro had her arm around Taichi who was playfully fighting her grip, watching them from the sides of her eyes while she tried to distract Ako. Fumie was looking sadly at her shoes, but Yu could tell that she was crying.

Yuuichirou nodded and said solemnly. "I promise." Though he didn't think that what they would tell them would be a surprise to any of them.

Pain.

That was the first thing that Mikaela was aware of the moment he regained consciousness. Regrettably. A short hiss escaped his cracked lips and he curled up, wrapping his arms around his legs. His limbs ached horribly, and his movements were a little stiff and slow.

"It's normal to hurt at first."

The soft voice that had floated across the room to him brought the memories of last night crashing back into him mind.

Trying to to move his head to look at her only caused more pain and Mikaela whimpered. It seemed that she was feeling generous because the vampire that had given him her blood last night stepped into his view. Had she been an adult he would have only been able to see up to her torso, but she wasn't. She must have been about his age, though Mika knew that wasn't true.

With quick though gentle movements she had helped him to prop his head up on her lap, one hand gently grasped in his hair and the other holding a glass vial before his lips. Again she spoke the words that she had the night before, the sound a soft murmur in her throat.

"Drink."

A soft but firm, unyielding command. One that compelled Mikaela to follow it. The scent of the vibrant crimson within the vial worked with her voice, pulling at something within him and painfully twisting all his organs.

Even if right at this moment he really wanted to obey and throw back the blood… Mika couldn't. It was abhorrent. He didn't want to be a vampire… Yu would hate him. The others wouldn't be all that pleased either, but Yu would hate him.

It took a long moment but Mikaela finally found the strength he needed to feeble rock his head in a negative gesture. The vial moved closer to his lips, tantalizing. He was trembling.

"The pain will go away once you do, trust me."

Still he refused, going so far as to dig his new little fangs deeply into his bottom lip.

"Hmm." The voice of his mistress hardened, but the vial disappeared from his view. A long shuddering breath was drawn of him as if pulled out by another being and he went slack in the vampire's grasp.

"I understand the initial revulsion but you will break eventually. It is not within a vampire's nature to abstain from their desire's. Though retaining a child's form is undesirable…" Here she paused, either in thought or for effect Mika couldn't tell. "This is merely a temporary measure, but I shall give you a choice."

Her hands snaked around to before his face, a slender finger drawing a nail across her own wrist. Blood welled from the wound quickly, splattering down with wet smacks against Mikaela's skin.

He shuddered, bright pain searing red across his vision and tugging at his stomach. His entire body yearned for this. Without even thinking he reached out, grasping her wrist greedily and striking his fangs into her flesh with the agility of a snake.

A quiet gasp from above him and then Mika could no longer hear what was around him. Once again all his senses were overpowered by the overwhelming presence of blood. Black blood, thick blood; it wasn't quite right, somehow his body knew that. Yet it was above delicious. The perfect hit of what his body had so desperately been craving. The pain slowly ceded to bliss, a pleasure strong enough to curl his toes.

"Yes." The vampire above his cooed, stroking his hair with her free hand. "You'll never be able to leave me now, dependent on me for all eternity… my cute little dog."

The bed on which Mikaela sat was squishy. More so than he remembered beds being, it was too soft, feeling as though he could almost sink through it at any given moment. Almost like he was on a cloud through some supernatural means and was about to plummet to the ground below. Was it because he hadn't, none of the orphans had, felt a real bed in such a long time? Or was this an experience driven by his vampiric senses? There really was no way to be able to tell.

As a… as a vampire he knew that his senses had expanded. During the trek to this room Mikaela had been so overwhelmed by all that was around him to even recall how they had moved through the corridors. What he could see was dazzling, with fine detail and depths that distracted him. The conversations, though soft, could be heard from several stories up and down. Even the way the air moved across his face as he walked had held Mika's attention far better than tracking his location had.

He suspected that Krul, the name of the vampire who had turned him, knew about his disorientation and was using it to her advantage. She had instructed him to stay in this room until her return, leaving no guard or other incentive to persuade him to stay. The appeal of obeying her was strong though, both as the Vampire Queen and, at a baser level, as his sire. Even the lingering sensations of a being human in the presence of a predator prompted him to follow her orders.

That hadn't stopped him from considering running away, the thought of his family burned at the back of his mind like the new bloodlust that burned constantly at his throat. He'd even gone so far as to open the unlocked down and look down both sides of the hallway.

There was no way he'd be able to figure out how to leave this place before someone took notice of his presence. Strange that he had considered the vampires to be 'someone' at first thought. He shuddered at the thought that he was one of them, almost. That he needed blood to survive.

It was unthinkable that he could see his family now. Not even to tell him what had been his fate. They'd all spent evenings talking quietly about how they hated vampires, and Yu had made plans in the streets in front of those very beings to kill them all. Vampires were the enemy of humankind, no matter what protection they loaned to their prey from other predators.

He couldn't go back to them. Absolutely could not let them see him like this, couldn't face them and feel the burning in the back of his throat for their blood. He'd rather die.

A long sigh parted his lips and Mikaela fell back on the bed with a soft noise. His hair splayed around him uncomfortably but he didn't move. Moving felt strange to him right now. It was too fluid, too different. He'd had a hard time of it walking earlier, though Krul had let him take his time.

Thinking of his family was not something that he wanted to do at the moment. It was too fresh of a loss. Really that's what it was, they weren't dead to him, but he was better off dead to them. It would be best if he could just pay his respects and put their memories to rest. Though he didn't think that he could do that either.

The ceiling of this room was tiled with large, white panels. Mika stared up at it from his vantage point on the too soft bed, trying to use its nondescript nature to clear his mind of his family. He tried to focus on what Krul had told him to distract himself.

He'd already known that feeding on human blood in the capital was illegal to them. She'd informed him that it was also illegal in all the other underground cities and sanctuaries in her domain, though other ruling progenitors had other methods of preserving the remaining herds of humans.

She'd given him a brief rundown of other vampire laws, the most important ones as he could wait to learn the others in her opinion. However, the one that stuck with him the strongest was the punishment for the illegal consumption of blood from the source in Sanguinem.

The severing of the perpetrator's non-dominate arm.

The grin on Krul's face as she had told him caused him to shudder. Though she was quick to assure him that he would be exempt from this long for his first feeding. They both know that that was not why he'd reacted.

Krul had nefarious plans in store for Ferid and now Mikaela would have a part to play in them as well. As her dog and as the victim that had caused Ferid's criminal activities to be exposed.

When Krul came back to retrieve him he would be an accessory to a small, perhaps petty, revenge on the monster that had ultimately caused him to become a monster himself. He recalled with vivid detail Ferid's interest in Yuuichirou, and felt no small sense of horror at the thought that that attention could extend to the whole of his family.

If the loss of an arm would inconvenience or hinder Ferid in any way, then Mikaela was eager to aid in any way that he could.


	4. Chapter 4

The room Mikaela entered was huge, dimly lit cushioned seats curved around the stage like structure that he found himself being presented on. The platform was positioned in the center of the room with the live audience to three sides, and a huge screen that took up the entire wall that was left.

Being in a room with this many vampires at once was suffocating and Mikaela felt like it was hard to breath. Which was curious because breathing wasn't quite a necessity for him anymore. They had a scent, he'd come to realize after moving through the manner and interacting with Krul the past two days. Something faint but musky, like an old book or an antique store.

Krul stood before him, addressing the gathered progenitors and nobles that sat before them. She flung her arms out wide as she spoke, perhaps to make her small figure more dominating. Her personality and power was enough to fill a room this large so Mikaela didn't know why she bothered. He did admit that it was hard to keep his eyes off of her, even when the other young appearing vampire on the screen spoke.

Even when Ferid had been escorted in.

It wasn't like the accused was in chains. If he really wanted Ferid would be able to move around freely. He could even flee this… trial if he so desired. Though where would he go if he did that? Running would be a confirmation of guilt and an avoidance of punishment. No progenitor with any interest of keeping order of their domain would give Ferid Bathory refuge. If vampires were interested in anything other than blood then it was power, and a lone vampire quickly fell victim to the humans. Even a seventh progenitor such as Ferid.

No, Ferid had to play along with Krul's plans now that he was stuck. Even if it meant loosing a limb.

Krul had expounded all about the bastard's scheming and meddling, though never going into detail as to what he had been meddling in. Mikaela was hardly surprised that the slimy, perverted vampire had been causing the queen of vampire's problems. Or that her problems were ones that she preferred kept from her subjects and contemporaries.

"I have summoned two witnesses against the accused!" This last, ringing proclamation boomed throughout the room. Carrying, no doubt, all the power of the third progenitor. Even with her small back to him, Mikaela shivered at the pull of her voice within him.

She'd explained a bit more about their relationship as sire and offspring during breaks between their prepping, well her prepping of him, for this trial. While he could easily refuse her, unless she exerted physical force, Mikaela would also be swayed by her words. At least until he grew into his power in the millennium to come.

Gesturing with her left arm, the movement a swirl of pink garments and pale flesh, she presented the female servant that had been in Ferid's employ. The woman who had rushed to the queen to save what was left of Mikaela's life. She had also been a spy sent by Krul to inform her of Ferid's movements, though he wasn't stupid enough to let slip his plans in words around her.

The first witness' familiar voice filled the space around him, not as loud as Krul's voice had been, but still at a volume that a human would struggle to reach without screeching.

Despite the loudness of her voice, Mikaela found himself distracted as she retold the painful tale of what he considered to be his death to these… monsters that he was joining the ranks of.

Eyes as cold as ice searched the vampires seated before him, noting the vaguely interested eyes and the quiet murmuring. Of course, they hadn't dared to talk while Krul had been speaking. Now they had a small chance to gossip it seemed. Even with the witness's loud voice, Mika could still catch bits and pieces of their conversations. It seemed that they were as gossipy and excited as vampires could be to watch Ferid finally enrage the queen enough to receive a punishment. This was a long time coming to him apparently, and Mikaela regretted with a sharp pain to his chest that he hadn't gotten what was coming to him sooner.

His family was safe for now, and that's what really mattered. Mikaela pushed his emotions away and tried to straightened his already stiff posture when Krul finally spread her out to him.

Mikaela wasn't to say anything; he was a child to these vampires so long as his eyes remained blue. In this court his word meant nothing, his mere body was to be evidence. Naturally the wounds caused by Ferid were healed, but his continued existence, the mere fact that the Third Progenitor Krul Tepes had deigned to give him her blood was to be proof of Ferid's acts against the law.

He was the loss of a precious source of blood and that the vampires understood vividly.

"I present Mikaela Hyakuya, born of my blood! Ferid's actions have caused the loss of this child's human existence. A blessing for him now, but what of us? This boy's once ripe blood! Robbed from us through Ferid's rash actions and queer obsessions." Righteous anger filled Krul's attention demanding voice, and she stepped toward Mikaela. With a sharp nail she pressed against the flesh of his neck, digging in just enough to cause a small rivet of blood to trail down Mika's exposed collarbone.

The vampires surrounding them suddenly buzzed with excitement, jostling in their seats though none of them stood or made to come toward them. Even Mikaela could smell it. The human left in his blood that even made his own hunger twinge just a bit in need. It was tainted though, with the pale musky scent of vampirism that would soon consume all of his natural scent.

Krul had made her point, in a flourish of pink clothe the ruling progenitor made her way back to her place on her stage before turning to regard her subjects. Though she didn't really care what her subjects thought, as the Third she could do with Ferid as she pleased since he'd broken her laws. The sneaky bastard was sly, however, and this sham of a trial was a political maneuver to save her ass should Ferid try something stupid in the future.

"Do you see now? That Ferid cannot go unpunished, lest he steal more of our already limited livestock out from under our noses?" She swept both arms out wide here, anticipating the unanimous answer from her vampires as they called it out. If there was anything that vampires understood, anything that could be used to control them, it was blood.

Everyone had more or less known, or at least heard the gossip, about Ferid's strange hobbies. No one had really cared before, let the strange Seventh do as he liked. However, when staged like this, even the ever apathetic vampires were eager to see blood spilt on stage.

Mikaela himself could feel some sense of excitement at the impending violence. Even if most of what he felt was because of the revenge he was getting. Because his family would be that much safer.

A gesture to the vampire standing just off the stage, and she approached. A voluptuous woman with long, pink hair strode toward them, a short sword held up in her hands. The vampire knelt before Krul who took the weapon from her, tossing the sheath on the ground as she strode toward where Ferid stood.

The two guards who had stood at Ferid's sides moved, one holding out Ferid's right arm by the wrist. The other stood directly behind Ferid, securing his dominate left hand behind his back.

The silver haired vampire had not moved throughout the entire proceedings, but now as Krul stalked toward him in her swaying stride Mikaela could see the uneasiness on his face. Not outright fear, no an arm wasn't much to loose for a vampire, but anyone would balk at seeing the Third approach you with a sword in one hand and that grin on her face.

Faster than even Mika's new vampire eyes could follow Krul swung the down, a thick cloud of smoke filling the air and obscuring the view of the small group.

Only the sound of Ferid's quiet, involuntary noises of pain and the grinding sound of metal on another hard surface.

Slowly the smoke cleared and Mikaela's eyes widened. In the floor was now a huge split where Ferid had been standing. All of the vampires had moved away from the damage, and Ferid was unfortunately still alive, though Krul now held his severed arm in her free hand.

Blood gushed from his wound still, filling the air with a heady aroma. Mikaela's throat felt painfully dry but he shoved the thought to the back of his mind. The effort had him panting, however.

Humming softly, Krul stabbed the bloodied sword into the stage and joined Mika's side, motioning for him to follow her as she left the large room. Ferid's arm still in her possession. She would be holding onto for awhile, figuratively. It could be reattached at anytime if Ferid got a hold of it, and if it were to be destroyed the vampire would just regenerate another arm. So long as it remained in this state and out of Ferid's grasp then his punishment would be affective.

Dimly Mikaela was aware that the chance that Ferid could rearm himself should worry him. Krul seemed the type to be able to hide something from anyone who desperately wants to find it. Whether that was a logical thought, or faith in his sire and queen Mika didn't know.

"Yu-chan, you can't keep doing this."

Yuuichirou hissed as Akane rubbed a small amount of anti-septic liquid on a scrape above his right eye. "Ow, Akane, be gentle!"

"Sorry, sorry…" She set the small fluff of cotton down and peeled the back off of a small band aid, pressing it over the cut carefully and soothing out the wings. Leaning back, she looked down at her family and sighed, he already had a nasty black eye.

"I know you heard what I said, stop ignoring me Yu-chan."

Rubbing the back of his head, careful around the bump that was growing there, Yu sighed. Man, Akane had a way of making him feel guilty.

"I'm sorry, Akane. It's just… they say things…" He trailed off, eyes flicking away from her.

"About Mikaela?"

Yu's head popped up and he locked eyes with her. "You know?" He asked, bewildered. He hadn't wanted her to find out, hadn't wanted any of the younger ones to know about it either.

"Of course I have, Yu-chan. They say it to me too. They say it to all of us, even to Fumie and Taichi. You're the only one who fights them Yu."

"I'm the only one who can, Akane." Yu muttered, resting his hands on the table. Fists clenched tight, his knuckles going white.

A soft sigh blew against his hair as Akane wrapped her arms around him from behind. He hadn't noticed her move behind him, but he didn't try to fight her affection. They both needed it, now more than ever.

"You don't have to defend his honor, Yu. Nor ours. Nothing they say about him will change the way any of us think about him, you know. I don't want you to fight anymore, neither do the children. Mika-chan wouldn't have wanted it either. You know this…" Her words were soft, muffled into his shoulder as she spoke. A soft sob shook her body, and Yu's eyes widened. He hadn't noticed that she had been crying.

"Akane…"

Yu trailed off as she pulled away, twisting around to look at her. Tears trailed down her face, but her brown eyes locked with his. Her lips thinned into a tight line, jaw set.

"It scares us, Yuuichirou. We can't afford to loose another member of our family."

A cold sensation sank like a stone in Yu's stomach and he tore his eyes away from hers in shame. He hadn't… hadn't thought about how they would feel. How scared Chihiro looked whenever he came home with a busted lip or a black eye. How Akane would shake ever so slightly as she tended to his wounds, while the children sat quietly in the other room, pretending to be practicing to read.

"I'm sorry Akane… I didn't think…"

A finger against his lips startled Yu into silence, and he looked up at Akane in confusion. Her face was lit with a smile, though her checks were still wet from her tears.

"I know, you rarely think Yu-chan." Akane stepped back from him, clasping her hands behind her back. "Go help them practice, I need to get started on dinner."

With a nod, Yuuichirou climbed to his feet. All of the children looked up at him as he stepped into the room, so he plastered a smile to his face.

"Hi guys, what ya working on?"

"Math…" Kouta and Ako stated together in a low drone.

Chihiro looked smiled, her finger keeping her place on the book that she was reading to Fumie and Taichi, one on each side of her.

"Ako and Kouta are solving problems while I read to these two. If you want, you can have them take turns reading sentences to you while I check over Ako and Kouta's work." She pushed the glasses up on her nose and Yu noted how tired her eyes look, dark from the lack of sleep, but also puffy and red like she had been crying recently.

"Yeah, I'll help." Yu took his place on the floor and the youngest two scampered to his side, eager to show off their skills to big brother Yuuichirou.

In the kitchen Akane hummed quietly, listening to her family over the bubbling of boiling water. She moved to the counter, taking a knife to cut the three potatoes she had left there. They had less food now that Mikaela wasn't… selling his blood in exchange for favors.

Still, the vampires provided them with just enough to survive. The nutrient pills helped a lot, though it was no replacement for real food. She worried about Taichi, he was so small and hadn't been growing much since they had been forced to come here.

A hiss escaped her lips as the knife slipped in her hand, slicing a small cut of the side of her finger. Akane put down the knife and held her hand away from food, pausing to watch the blood trail down her hand to her wrist.

Two months.

It had been two months since Mikaela had died, and they were just trying to make life seem normal. To act as though they weren't sad. It wasn't like they had forgotten Mika, they still talked about him and laughed at stories of the past. There was still a part of her that hated that they had to continue, that she couldn't just throw herself down and cry and sleep until she was sick of it.

She cried in front of Yu, but she couldn't allow herself to do so before the other children. They knew that she was sad, but crying would make them worry. It would make them sadder than they already were. Taichi was already over it, his smile never faltered unless someone unintentionally reminded him that he was supposed to still be sad. The rest of them had cried their fill and were healing, trying their hardest to learn what little Chihiro and Akane could teach them and to help when it was asked of them.

Even Yu had his fights.

Akane sighed yet again, finally stepping over to the sink to wash away the blood that had made its way to her elbow already. Glancing out the door toward her family, she smiled a little as Taichi jumped on Yu, completely disrupting their studying. She couldn't bring herself to show them just how hollow she felt when they weren't looking.


End file.
